


Zom-B

by FanfictionForYou



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: End of the World, F/M, M/M, Multi, One Man Cure, Werewolves, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-04
Updated: 2012-09-09
Packaged: 2017-11-13 14:15:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/504365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanfictionForYou/pseuds/FanfictionForYou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world has ended.  The dead have risen and walk the world.  Three months in, Stiles and his father discover The Castle, a fortress built by an eccentric billionaire who built places like it all over the world for different types of possible apocolypses.  It’s safe and mostly self sustaining.  </p><p>A year later, a group of survivors finds themselves at The Castle in need of a new home.  Most of them are not what they seem, and one of them has the cure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fortress

**It’s coming.  It’s only a matter of time.  Man is not as imaginative as it thinks it is.  All of its horrors have to come from somewhere.  I fear that one of these horrors may lead to the end of the human race.**

**I have built a series of compounds to protect against such occasion.  This compound I created with the walking dead in mind.  The wall and gates will keep the hordes out, and should it fail; they will be unable to infiltrate the actual building.  I fear that I will not be here when the time comes; but I know that someone will discover this place and it will become their sanctuary.  Perhaps a cure can be created here…**

********

It had started silently.

It started on a day just like any other.  Stiles had gotten up and gotten ready for school.  He ate cereal with his father and the two left the house at the same time.  Stiles drove his Jeep to school while his father drove his cruiser to work.  He was the sheriff of the town and he was just about to start running for re-election. 

Stiles was sitting in third period English when the screaming started outside.  There was a freshman gym class and it looked like they were being attacked by a group of lunatics.  Everyone rushed to the windows and Stiles could clearly see that the ‘lunatics’ were biting at the freshman and ripping huge chunks out of them. 

Then, one of them had gotten into the school and chaos ensued.  Stiles had only made it out because he had gotten ahold of a metal bat from the gym storage locker.  Whenever one of those things came close to him; he bashed it in the head.

He knew what they were.  Everyone knew what they were.  It was 2012, and everyone had seen at least one zombie movie or one television show featuring them.  It wasn’t hard to figure out that you needed to aim for the head.

Needless to say, everyone started running away despite school not actually being canceled…the principle had her throat ripped out and couldn’t exactly make the announcement.

He had gotten into his Jeep and headed straight for the Sheriff’s office.  Everything was normal there.  It seemed like no one had even called in about the zombies.  Stiles saw his father sitting silently behind his desk as he did paper work.

All of the cops in the office had been shocked by Stiles’ state.  He was covered in blood and clutching a bloody baseball bat.  Some were even pointing guns at him.

“Save your ammo.  I’m not the threat.”

The door behind him burst open and one of the police officers stumbled inside with a zombie attached to its arm.  Stiles bashed the zombie in the head and looked at the officer with sadness in his eyes.  This man would die.

“It’s started.  The Zombie Apocalypse.  Dad.  We need to go.  There is nothing we can do here.”

***  
  
That had been three months ago.

After a week, the virus had spread to every part of the United States.  The survivors either hit the road or holed up inside of their houses.  It was chaos.  At least Stiles and his father had a bunch of guns and ammo.  It was great being the Sherriff’s son when the world ended.

They had started heading East in the hopes that they could move ahead of the infection and get on a boat to take them somewhere else.  The virus was faster than the jeep.

You would think that people would be more self-sacrificing knowing that it was the _zombie_ apocalypse.  Everyone knew before it even started that a single bite meant you were a dead man and that you would become one of _them._   That hadn’t stopped the newly infected form hiding their status until it was too late and they had added themselves to the growing undead hoards.  Idiots.  Really, they were the ones damning the human population to extinction.

It had been after a long day and night of driving that they came across the road that seemed to call to them.  They drove down the dirt path and came to the most amazing thing they had ever seen.

It was like a castle right in the middle of the forest.  There was a sixteen foot high reinforced concrete wall around the vast perimeter and an iron and steel gate.  It was obvious that none of the undead would be able to enter.  Stiles had climbed the wall and unlocked it from the inside so that his father could drive the Jeep inside before locking the gate once more.

On the inside of the wall was what appeared to be a castle of sorts.  The bottom floor had many windows that were nothing more than three inch wide slits; so that someone could look outside but so that there was no chance of anyone getting through the windows.  It wasn’t until what was clearly the second floor that the windows became large enough to enter.

The explored the perimeter.  It encased the ‘castle’ and several acres of open land.  An equipment shed revealed everything needed to start up a garden, and a large ladder.

His father had used the ladder to enter the building from the second floor and had taken a full ten minutes to open the large steel door which couldn’t be opened from the outside as it was locked from within.

The father and son explored every single room in a quick sweet to ensure that there were no undead inside.

When their thorough search proved that the entire area was clean, they decided to set up base.  They brought in their supplies and slowly began to explore their new home.

It quickly became clear that this place was designed for some sort of great catastrophe.  There was a medical wing with all sorts of advanced equipment, a self-sustaining fish farm in the basement with large carp in a tank with plants growing on top.  The plants oxygenated the water and fed the fish while the fish fed them.  The entire basement was set up like a greenhouse with special lamps to help the plants grow; though nothing was currently being grown except for on the carp tank.

There was a sub-basement bellow this ‘green house’ which held all sorts of non-perishable food items and even several meats put in a very deep freeze.

The Castle as they called it; had its own armory filled with guns, ammo, and even grenades and rockets for the rocket launcher.  There were other weapons as well, ones that defended only on man power so that when the ammunition wore out; there was still a way to defend themselves.

They discovered a garage with large combat vehicles that were designed to push bodies and other vehicles out of the way.  These vehicles could be used to transport supplies.  They were also shocked to discover instructions on how their engines ran on air rather than any form of fuel.  The large generators for The Castle also ran on air, and there were solar panels on the roof.

Upon inspection of the roof, they discovered several covered machine guns.

This place truly was a fortress created for the survival of the human race.

This would be their new home.

***  
A year passed.  It was now fifteen months since the horrible day when the dead came back to life.  Stiles groaned as he shifted in his big fluffy bed.  Something had woken him up…but what?  It took a few moments for the screeching of the alarms to make its way to his ears.

Someone or something had tripped the sensors.

Stiles was out of bed and dressed in a matter of moments and making his way down to the control room.  The alarms had gone off several times since he and his father had made this their home.  Sometimes it was caused by passing animals (the lucky bastards were immune to the virus, which was good because virus free deer meant venison for dinner), but on one or two occasions it had been the undead.

He hoped it wasn’t the undead.  He and his father had gone been forced to leave their safe little fortress to remove the bodies from the area and put them in a massive furnace that rested outside of the wall.  It was disgusting work; but they had to do it.

Stiles slipped into the control room to see that his father was already there…of course he was already there…his father had made the control room his bedroom and slept on the bed that was in there just for that purpose.

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure.”

The cameras showed a group of vehicles.  A man stepped out of the one in the front and looked up at the gate.

“Oh my god…they’re alive.  That’s living people!”

John Stilinski sighed softly and pulled on his jeans and boots before grabbing his gun. 

“I’m going to check things out and speak to them.  Stay by the coms and I’ll let you know if you should open the gate.”

Stiles sat down in his father’s seat and pressed a button to activate the coms unit on the gate.

“One moment sir.  A representative will be with you shortly.”

***  
  
What the hell?  Derek had brought his little caravan down this way because he figured that there was a chance that there was some safe little house down this way.  He had not expected the fortress that stood before him.  Now some kid’s voice came over the com to say that ‘a representative’ would be with him soon.

What the hell?

Was this some sort of government facility?

It looked like one.

After a few minutes, a man stepped out of the door of the building inside and made his way towards the gate.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

“My name is Derek Hale.  My group and I are looking for a safe haven.  We’ve been traveling nonstop for fifteen months.”

“How many in your group?”

“Ten including myself.  One of them is a nurse and one is a veterinarian.  The rest are just teenagers.”

“Have them step out of the cars so I can see them.”

Derek gestured for the group to step out of the cars.  John nodded when he noticed that the majority of them really were teens. 

“I was the Sheriff of my county before this all started.  It’s just me and my teenage son here.  Some eccentric billionaire made this place to preserve the human race.  Do you and yours swear to live here peacefully with my son and I?”  John was good at spotting lies.

“Yes.”

It was the truth. 

John reached out to the com on the gate and pressed it. 

“Buzz them in Stiles.”

“Sure thing, Dad.”

“You may want to step back, son.”

Derek took a few steps back as the gates swung open.  The drivers stepped back into the cars and drove them into the compound while the rest chose to walk after sitting in the cars for such a long time.  The gates closed sharply after the last had entered.

“Welcome to your new home.”

****  
  
The place was huge and there was enough room for each of them to have their own bedroom  The first thing the newcomers did was take turns showering while a few others in the group worked on washing clothes.  There was silence during all of this; as Stiles had gone to the kitchen to begin making food for everyone.  He had hunted down a deer just the day before; and he went to work making a stew of it thick with potatoes, carrots, and fresh peas from their green house floor.

Once everyone was showered, clean, and had chosen their bedrooms; they made their way into the kitchen where Stiles was just pulling several loaves of fresh baked bread out of the oven and his father was setting out bowls on the table.

John stood straight and looked around at the group who all seemed to be salivating over the smell of the stew and the fresh bread.

“We didn’t really get to introduce ourselves before.  I’m John, and this is my son Stiles…the chef.”

Stiles took a small taste of the stew’s broth and gave a small wave before declaring the food ready.

“I’m Derek.  This is Melissa McCall and her son Scott.  Melissa was a nurse.  This is Scott’s former boss Doctor Marcus Deaton.  He used to be the vet.  Then we have Jackson, Isaac, Boyd, Erica, Lydia and Danny.”

Melissa was a pretty woman in her early forties with long brown hair shot through with a bit of grey that probably didn’t appear until fifteen months ago when the shit hit the fan.  She was clearly of Hispanic origins.  Her son had her eyes, and a slightly crooked jaw.  He was standing very close to the boy named Isaac who had dirty blond curls and a perpetual ‘kicked puppy’ look on his face.  The two were holding hands and clearly a couple. 

Doctor Marcus Deaton was a muscular black man with a shaved head and neatly trimmed facial hair.  He stood beside Boyd who was also black and equally as muscular.  They looked like they could be related in the way they stood proudly.   Clinging to Boyd’s arm was a girl with long blond hair and chocolate brown eyes.  This was Erica.

A short red headed girl stood off to the side, filing her nails with a nail file that had clearly seen better days.  This was Lydia.  She had an arm around her shoulder that belonged to Jackson, who had short blond hair and blue eyes.  Jackson’s other arm was slung around the final boy’s waist.  Danny appeared to have Hawaiian heritage and had his fingers laced through Jackson’s fingers on his hip.  So this group was a threesome.  Interesting.  What was even more interesting was the bite shaped scar on Danny’s arm.

“He was bitten!”

Danny looked down at his arm and winced.  The scar would always be a reminder of his family’s death.  They had been slaughtered while Danny had gotten off with only a scar to forever remind him of the day.  Derek stepped in front of him to protect him from the angry Sheriff.

“He was bitten when this all started.  Fifteen months ago.  He was sick for a few days but he fought it off.  He’s immune.”

John relaxed and nodded. 

“Then perhaps Mrs. McCall and Mr. Deaton can use the lab to work on a cure with his blood.”

“You have a lab here?”  Lydia looked completely ecstatic.

“Yep.  We have a lab, a medical wing, a green-house taking up the first basement level complete with a little fish farm, and a sub-basement filled with non-perishable items.  Then there is the control room, the library, the study, the armory…the garage filled with high tech assault vehicles, and the machine guns attached to the roof.  This place is a fortress of awesome.  Now everyone sit down and eat.  I didn’t risk my ass killing this deer yesterday just to let this stew get cold.”

Stiles had already filled each of the bowls with the stew and cut into the bread which was still steaming on small plates next to each bowl.  There was sadly no butter.

“Sorry that we don’t have butter.  It wasn’t one of those things that was stocked here.”  Stiles shrugged before sitting down beside his father who had taken the seat at the head of the table.  The newcomers quickly found seats of their own and dug in like ravenous wolves.

There were no leftovers that night.


	2. Wolves of The Apocalypse

Danny winced as the needle entered his skin and his blood started pouring into the little glass vial.  He looked away, disturbed not by the sight of his blood but the very idea that something so thin and metal and that could possibly break…was in his skin.  He held back a shutter as he felt the needle slip out and held the piece of gauze to the tiny hole as Melissa carried the vials she had filled away.

She was working with Deaton and Lydia on finding a cure for the virus that brought the dead back to life.  If they could find it; then they could potentially make a biological weapon…probably some sort of gas…to use against the walking dead.  It would be so easy to just have to spray them with something and have them drop dead than to have to bash their heads in and run away from them.  Furthermore, if a vaccine could be created; then the survivors could be inoculated and wouldn’t need to be put down after something as small as a scratch caused by undead.

For the survival of the human race; Danny would gladly give every last drop of blood.

***  
  
“It’s good to know that the lab is being put to good use.”  Stiles bit into a granola bar as he sat with Scott McCall.  Scott was biting into his own bar, though his was lacking in the chocolate chips that Stiles has.  There was only one left with chocolate chips; and the two had flipped a coin for it.  Stiles had won the coin toss.

“It’s good to have a lab.  Most of the hospitals we came across were infested with the walkers.  Even independent labs were swarmed.  Everyone went to them when the infection started; and they sort of stuck around.”

“Yea well, I’m sure there are quite a few idiots who think they can get in and out with supplies and drugs without being detected.  In the end, they’re just damning themselves to the same fate.”

“We lost my dad that way.  I mean, he and my mom had gotten divorced years ago…but they banded together for my benefit.  Dad was all about how they could protect me better together than apart.  He was right.  He got to me before mom could; and he took the bite that was meant for me.”

“I’m sorry man.”

“It’s okay.  We weren’t very close.  So um…what about your mom?”

Stiles sighed.  “She died before any of this happened.  It was cancer.  Still; it was just as hard.  My father and I traveled with others for a little bit.  Seeing someone slowly become one of ‘them’ is a bit like watching someone waste away from cancer; only it happens in a few hours instead of over several months.”

Scott reached out and ran his hand along Stiles’ back.  “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  At least with cancer, she died on her own.  I didn’t have to kill her.”

Stiles would never forget the things that he had to do to survive those first few months before they found this place.  His innocents had been lost; and he only put on the mask now for his father’s benefit.  Both looked up at Isaac entered the room and sat down in the V of Scott’s legs.  Scott wrapped his arms around the taller teen and nuzzled lightly against his neck.  His eyes briefly went gold as he took in his mate’s scent; though Stiles didn’t see this.

“So, what’s with everyone being paired up?”

A deep blush came to Isaac’s cheeks.

“Shit happens when the world is ending.  It makes you see things better than you did before.  We all came from the same town in Northern California.  Derek came for us when the first wave of attacks came.  He was working as a mechanic and was working on one of those busses with an actual door instead of those swinging things…he went to the school first to get as many kids out as he could.  In the beginning there were twenty of us kids.”  Isaac closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he remembered the gore of those kids not making it through the second attack.

“He collected my mom and Doctor D.  Mom was running alone on the side of the road when we passed her and Doctor D was on the roof of his clinic.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re all together.”

“We knew one another before all of this.”  Isaac settled more comfortable against Scott’s chest.  “Jackson and Lydia had already been the school’s power couple.  Danny was Jackson’s best friend.  When the world started to end, Jackson freaked out and confessed to having loved Danny for years; though he also loved Lydia.  The fact that the three of them are together is also in part for…well…breeding purposes.  She said that both Danny and Jackson had great genetics and Jackson couldn’t choose between them.  Along the way, Danny fell in love with Lydia as well.” 

Scott continued the story.  “Boyd risked his life to save Erica.  After that, she kissed him and it just sort of started something.”

“What about the two of you?”

Scott gave a very goofy grin.  “One very interesting full moon.”  He captured Isaac’s lips in a tender kiss.  Stiles turned away; feeling like he was interrupting something.

“That…didn’t really answer my question; but okay.”

When the two showed no signs of stopping their little make out session; Stiles left and headed up the many stairs to the roof.  He sat there, looking out at the forest around their fortress.  He didn’t hear the footsteps until someone was sitting down beside him.  He nearly jumped when he noticed that it was Derek Hale.

“So; you saved them all?”

Derek shrugged.  “I just had the getaway car.”

“Why did you ditch the bus?”

“It wasn’t practical; and it was in need of repair.  In the end; we stole a couple of new cars from a dealership a few miles outside of town.”

Stiles couldn’t go against that logic.

“You should come inside.  The group needs to talk to you and your father about something important.”

Shit.  Were they going to kick him and his dad out?  It was possible.  A lot of people had lost their humanity since the ‘uprising’.

***  
  
Stiles and his father were sitting on a couch together in the main sitting room.  Melissa, Deaton, Danny, and Lydia were standing behind them while Derek, Scott, Isaac, Jackson, Erica, and Boyd stood before them.

“There is something you need to know about us if we’re all going to live here peacefully.”

John shifted forward in his seat.  “And what is that, son?”

Derek’s eyes flashed blood red and his face shifted.  Fangs grew in his mouth and his nails grew to claws.  The same happened to the others standing with him.  The only real difference was that Scott, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd had amber eyes while Jackson’s were ice blue.  Their forms quickly shifted back to human.

“We’re werewolves.  I’m the alpha of the pack.  When all of this started, I had to turn the others.  I tried turning Lydia but she proved immune to the bite.  Of course, this happened after we found out that Danny was immune to the virus.  We decided to keep him human until a cure could be found.  Deaton and Melissa chose to remain human.”

John looked mildly terrified; but Stiles simply moved to stand in front of Isaac and Scott.

“One interesting full moon huh?”

“There was a…mishap with a certain herb that we came across.  It’s like sexy time catnip to werewolves.  It was just Isaac and I.  The next morning…we realized that we actually liked each other and we’ve been together ever since.”

“Yea, that does qualify as an interesting full moon.”

Stiles stepped away from the couple and moved to stand in front of Derek.  He fearlessly reached out and ran his fingers over the alpha’s cheek before running a thumb over his bottom lip and tugging it down gently.  His teeth were now completely human and pearly white.  Oral hygiene wasn’t easy in an apocalypse.  Toothpaste is the last thing you think of when you’re gathering supplies.  Those first few months had been hell on Stiles’ breath; yet Derek’s teeth were as white as if he had never missed a day of brushing in his life.

“So you’re telling us this, why?”

“The full moon is in two nights.  And we figured that it was best if I offered you and your father the bite.”

“Absolutely not!”  John stood and yanked his son back by the back of his shirt; causing the boy to give a startled yelp.  “I don’t mind you staying here.  Clearly you have control if those four are still alive despite their human status…but I refuse to take the bite and my son is only seventeen.  I refuse to let him make that sort of decision until he is legally an adult.”

“Dad…I think ‘legally and adult’ dropped to age ten the second the dead started walking around.”

“While that may be the case; I am your father and you will respect my wishes.  If you decide that you want it in a year; then I will not stop you.  Until then…no.”

Stiles pouted.  “And what if more people come and there is some older person that I want to have hot and crazy sex with.”

“You’re seventeen.  As long as I don’t have to see it or hear it; go ahead.”

Good to know….because Derek was kind of hot.


	3. Giving Thanks

Dawn was just breaking as Stiles slipped onto the roof with a bow and arrows.  He had thrown some scratch out the night before in preparation for what he had to do this morning.  There were more mouths to feed; and that meant more fresh meat was required.  On the lawn bellow was a flock of fat wild turkeys.  There were a few Toms and a whole lot of hens.  Stiles licked his lips lightly as he notched an arrow and effortlessly took down five of the flock of what must have been twenty.  It wasn’t until the fifth went down that the others caught on to what was happening and took to the air; leaving the compound.  They would be back again though; he knew they would.

He nearly crashed into Derek as he was making his way downstairs.

“Hey, where are you off to so early?  And why do you have a bow?”

“I caught dinner.  Come on out and help me.”

The alpha cocked his head to the side before following the teen out to the ‘front yard’.  The scent of blood caught in his throat and he was momentarily left confused until he saw Stiles plucking a bloody arrow from a wild turkey.  There were four others spread out over the yard.

He couldn’t help the small grin that tugged at the corners of his lips.  His pack sucked at hunting things like this.  Sure; they could take down a deer or a moose; but when it came to fowl, they were foul.  Even he couldn’t catch a bird to save his life. 

He picked up three of the dead birds by their necks and followed Stiles and his two around the back of the building.  Here there was a deck like area designed for cleaning any wild game brought in.  There were already several blood stains from various kills that must have been made by Stiles in the past.  John was there with Melissa and Deaton who must have gotten up around the same time as Stiles.  They had filled a basin with hot water and Stiles dropped the birds into the large basin.  Derek followed his example before also pulling on thick rubber gloves just like Stiles was doing, and like Melissa, John, and Deaton were doing.

The birds were only in the hot water for a few seconds; with every feather getting wet before they were pulled out.  Stiles sat down with a bit of plastic over his lap as he held the bird by its feet and began ripping out handfuls of feathers before dropping them into the water.  Derek watched for a moment to see how it was done; before going about plucking in the same way that Stiles and John had gone about it.

“So, why are we putting the feathers in the water?”

“So that they’re not drying and flying all over the yard and attracting something we don’t want attracted.  The longer feathers will be kept and turned into Quills…just in case we run out of pens.  Not that we’re really writing much these days.  Not unless you count Stiles’ journal.”

Derek turned to look at the teen again.

“It’s not what you think.  It’s not me pouring out my feelings.  I’m leaving records for whoever might come after us.  It’s important that they know what life was like before all of this happened, and how we survived it.”

“I agree.  Maybe I’ll start my own; from a wolf’s point of view.”

“That’s a good idea Derek.  Deaton, Lydia, and I already started medical journals about or search for a cure.”

There was silence for a while as they all plucked.  There was a chill in the air and there was steam coming off of the lawn as the sun started rising higher in the sky.

“Does anyone know the actual date?”  Derek figured that it must be sometime in Fall due to the crispness in the air.  Soon it would be winter and things would be more difficult.  Maybe he should organize a supply run with the pack to get a few things to help them through the winter.

“Derek…today is Thanksgiving.”

If that was so…then he and his pack had a lot to be thankful for this year.

***  
  
The kitchen where they had eaten previously was not _the kitchen_.  Sure, it was big enough for regular meals for a small group of people; but it wasn’t big enough for a feast and for the full number of people that this facility could house.

 _The kitchen_ looked more like it belonged in a large restaurant.  There was plenty of room to move around and plenty of surfaces to work on.  There were numerous burners for pots and pans and many ovens that could have different temperatures for things to be baked and roasted.

Stiles, Melissa, John, and Deaton were all in this massive kitchen preparing the feast of the day.  Everyone knew that this wouldn’t be a normal occurrence.  They needed to ration their food so that they would not run out; and now they were making remarkably large helpings of their vegetables and fruits.

Melissa had taken the turkeys as her special project.  She was really bad when it came to baking anything; but she could cook a mean turkey.  Scott was already salivating over what was too come.  Derek neglected to tell him that he had his hand up the turkey’s neck, ripping out the innards which had already been tossed into a composter outside.  At one point he had gotten his hand stuck in the smallest of the five turkeys and needed Stiles’ assistance in pulling it out. 

So, Melissa was working on the turkeys while John and Deaton were working on the side dishes.  Stiles was left to the baking.  He had started the night before by preparing dough for bread and pies.  Derek left them to it for a short amount of time to instruct the pack that they should clean the kitchen, tables, and plates so that everything was ready when it was time to finally eat.  He made the pack a small breakfast and came down stairs with pancakes for the four furiously working chefs in the kitchen who only took a small break before going back to what they were doing.

“Can I help Stiles?”

Stiles looked up from where he was kneading some dough, his head tilted to the side as he looked at the wolf.

“I don’t see why not.  I imagine it would go faster.  But the question is…can you bake?”

“I don’t know.”

Stiles laughed softly before pointing to a bowl of what appeared to be cookie dough.  It was brown and smelled heavily of molasses.    Next to it was a bowl of sugar.

“Make walnut sized balls and roll them in the sugar before putting them about an inch apart on the baking tray.  Then put them into this oven.”  Stiles pointed to one of the ovens.  “For nine minutes and put them there, on that parchment paper to cool.  Then start all over again.”  Stiles handed Derek a timer that looked like an apple before going back to whatever it was he was doing.

Derek frowned down at the bowl of cookie dough.  He could do this.  He really could.  He washed his hands and pulled up his sleeves before digging into the dough.  He rolled it in his hands and made a perfect little circle before rolling it around in the sugar and then placing it on the tray.  There was one cookie.  He followed this pattern for about three more before figuring that there had to be a faster way.  He continued rolling the cookies in his hands but instead, let them sit in the sugar for a few moments until he had several in the sugar, and then rolled them all together before putting them on the sheet.

He popped the first sheet on the oven and started the timer as he continued working on filling the other three trays.

After nine minutes, he removed the tray with an oven mitt to see that the cookies were now flat and the tops looked cracked.  They looked and smelled amazing and Derek really couldn’t wait to try one.  He used a spatula to slip them off of the tray and onto the paper before slipping the next trey in and starting all over again.  After the second tray, he finally snuck one of the cookies and hummed in delight before going on as if nothing had happened.

Stiles knew though.  He had seen that how Derek had snuck that cookie.  It brought a soft smile to his lips.

****  
  
They had been cooking the entire day.  It was now around four in the afternoon and dishes upon dishes were being brought to the dining room where the pack had set the table.  Everyone sat together and they decided upon saying what they were thankful for that season.  John went first.

“I’m thankful that I have my son here with me despite how hard times have gotten.  I’m thankful that our numbers have grown and that we all have a real chance of survival now.”

Melissa spoke next.  “I’m thankful for my son and his mate, and for the pack.  I’m thankful that we were given this home; and that we can now search for a cure to end this darkness.”

Scott:  “I’m thankful for my mate and my mom who both keep me sane.  I’m glad that we have found this haven so that we can finally rest; if only for a little while.”

Isaac:  “I’m thankful for my mate and my new family.  I’m thankful for new friends and that for the first time in years I can sleep without having to worry about some new horror waiting in the darkness.”

Lydia:  “I’m thankful that we survived.  I’m thankful that we have a lab were we can work on finding a cure.  I’m thankful that I have two very delectable mates who love me and who will one day give me the most beautiful children.”

Jackson and Danny both blushed here.

Jackson:  “I’m thankful for my mates.  I’m thankful that they understand me and that they have come to love one another as I love them.  I’m thankful that even though I’m not related to anyone here by blood; that they’re my family.”

Danny:  “I’m thankful for Jackson and Lydia.  I’m thankful that I finally realized that I can find myself highly attracted to certain women.  I’m thankful that I was blessed with immunity to this virus and that I may one day help the world find a cure to stop this madness.”

Erica:  “I’m thankful for Boyd and for my pack.  I’m thankful for this place and this food and these people.”

Boyd:  “I’m thankful for Erica and our pack.  I’m thankful for all the same reasons she is thankful.”

Deaton:  “I’m thankful for this family and this place.  I’m thankful for this food and the fact that animals can’t carry the virus because otherwise we wouldn’t have this amazing turkey before us.  I’m thankful for the lab and the research that we’re doing.  I’m thankful for this second chance.”

Derek gestured for Stiles to go before him.

Stiles:  “I’m thankful for my father and for our new friends.  I’m thankful for this place and for this food…and I’m thankful that my mother isn’t here to see it.  I’m thankful that she left this world before it all went to hell; because honestly, if she wasn’t up there watching over dad and I…I don’t think we would have made it and I don’t think we would have found this place.  And no matter how much I miss her; I’m thankful that she never had to see the horror that our world has become.”

John took his son’s hand and squeezed it comfortingly while Derek placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder before saying what he was thankful for.

“I’m thankful that that even though I lost my blood family; I still have a pack.  I’m thankful that my betas have all found mates and that they’re happy.  I’m thankful that there is a chance at a cure.  I’m thankful that this place exists and that there is a chance at rebuilding.  I’m thankful for so much that I can’t even begin to say all of it.”  He laughed softly.  “And I’m thankful for certain people who surprise you ever day…like how a certain someone took down five turkeys in a matter of moments this morning; because…this feast smells amazing.”

Stiles blushed at the mild praise Derek had given him.  John stood and handed a large fork and carving knife over to Derek.

“Would you do the honors?”

“Of course, but only if Stiles takes the first bite.  He is the one that caught these after all.”

Stiles blushed and nodded.  He had read in a fiction novel that werewolves fed the person that they had interest in first.  It was probably nothing.

Derek stood and began cutting the turkeys expertly.  Stiles was given the first slice of turkey and bit into the tender meat before moaning in delight. 

“Oh my god Mrs. McCall…wild turkey has never tasted so good.”

Melissa simply gave a satisfied smile before taking a sip of her cider and waiting for more praise to come from the pack of ravenous wolves who were practically drooling over the feast.

****  
  
The majority of the group was spread out in various rooms in a turkey induced coma.  From time to time, one of the wolves would twitch to get more comfortable before settling back down into sleep.  The humans…minus Lydia and Danny had gone up to their bedrooms to sleep.  Lydia and Danny were curled up by the fire place on either side of Jackson; who held on to both of them tightly.

Stiles was in the massive kitchen, washing up plates and putting unused food into a large bin to be taken out to the composter later on.  Derek had fought off the sleepiness of devouring too much good food and had slipped in next to Stiles to dry off dishes.

“How much meat do you actually catch around here?”

Stiles wasn’t shocked by the question.  He did however, wonder if Derek meant it as a question of Stiles skill or a question of how much game was in the area.

“Quite a bit.  This area is forested so there are lots of animals that come through.  If I can kill it with a bow and arrow; then I’ll take it down.  I’ve gotten three deer over the year, countless birds, and several rabbits.  But that was all done from within the safety of the walls.”

“I can understand the rabbits and birds getting on this side of the wall; but how do the deer do it?”

“They don’t.  They trigger the alarms and I wait for them just outside of the open gate.  I’ve taken to setting out bait to attract them from time to time.  I had the chance to go for a bear; but I wasn’t sure an arrow would take it out and I didn’t want to wound it if I wasn’t going to be able to get it.”

Derek nodded as he absentmindedly dried a plate.

“You really would be a good addition to the pack.  You can easily provide for the others with your skills.  We haven’t had anything that could fly in a very long time.  We can catch deer and moose but the birds…”

“They can be a bitch; what with the wings.”

“Stiles?  Would you ever…mate with someone within the pack?”

“You’re the only one not taken.”

Derek froze for a moment.

“Do you mean…if you turned someone else?”

“Well that…or me.”

Stiles yelped as he cut his finger on a knife.  It slipped when Derek’s question startled him.

“Stiles!”

Derek first dried the teen’s finger before slipping it into his mouth and running his tongue along the slice.  Stiles looked on with shocked eyes and tried pulling away; but Derek kept his finger firmly in his mouth.

The pain started to fade as Derek’s tongue ran over it, and heat began to build in his stomach and cheeks.  Stiles watched as Derek pulled his finger from his mouth with a small ‘pop’ and gave it one final lick.  The wound was closed and now nothing more than a thin pink line.  Stiles eyes moved back to Derek’s lips and watched as his tongue ran over them; as if licking away the last of Stiles’ flavor.

He couldn’t help himself.  He practically pounced in his need to get to Derek’s lips.  Derek pulled the boy close and slanted their lips together in an awkward first kiss which was quickly interrupted by Lydia entering the room for a drink of water.

“You two really need to practice that.  You looked like a couple of drunken fumblers.  Well, have fun.”

She filled her glass and took a sip before returning to the den where her mates were.

Stiles and Derek looked at one another, laughed nervously, and then went back to cleaning the dishes; though this time Derek started washing while Stiles dried.


End file.
